Savitha, who had trouble breathing, underwent a surgery at a city hospital to clear the fluid in her lungs earlier this year. Six months later, the 32-year-old developed complications and died, triggering a spate of violent events during which the surgeon was assaulted and the hospital vandalized by her kin. His reputation all but gone, the doctor took to the bottle. Today he is battling a drinking problem.

With such incidents of violence and repeated attacks on hospitals and doctors following negative results after treatment becoming common, doctors in Tamil Nadu have asked the state government to take serious cognizance of the issue and institute a committee to implement the Hospital Protection Act, passed in 2008, effectively. As per the act, any attack against a duty-bound doc tor, hospital or its staff would invite an imprisonment of three years extending up to 10 years and a hefty fine.

A study conducted by the Medical Council of India has found that nearly 75% of doctors are subjected to some form of violence or assault at work.

“This trend of healthcare professionals being roughed up is worrying. There are instances of doctors going out and hiring security people just to keep order at the hospital.This indicates a serious discord in the doctor-patient relationship,“ said state MCI member Dr L P Thangavelu. He said doctors should keep a clean trail of patient's records and prescriptions as it would come to their aid in case of medico-legal tangles.

Dr Thangavelu said though the Hospital Protection Act was passed seven years back, it has not been enforced properly leading to random incidents of violence in hospitals.

“Patients and their relatives have unrealistic expectations from doctors and expect them to act like God. No one intentionally harms or ends a life. So how is it fair that doctors face the heat whenever a patient dies of complications?“ he said.

A senior member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said due to fears of a backlash if something goes wrong, doctors prescribe a battery of tests for even common place ailments.

“They now want to keep all corners covered. So they leave no stone unturned when it comes to tests,“ he said. The IMA member said a patient can develop complications suddenly and the doctor may not be at fault always.

“If the Hospital Protection Act is implemented, doctors would feel safer and be free to discharge their duties without fearing untoward consequences,“ he added.

A state health department official said the formation of the committee is underway and a government order would be sent to all districts shortly. “The committee would comprise the district collector, chairmen of hospitals, a government doctor and an IMA member,“ said the official.

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A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao passed the order while acting on a PIL filed by Delhi-based dermatologist Zaheer Ahmed who complained that lakhs of medicines were being sold on the internet every day without much regulation, posing a huge risk to patients and doctors alike.